It was as if the world, or at least my world of readers, let out a collective exhale and expressed their communal disgust.

The object of their/our revulsion? The omnipresent Joe Jackson who, regrettably, has been plastered on our television screens making odd comments and promoting his various business ventures since the sudden death of his son, Michael Jackson.

If you didn’t read my first column on this topic a few weeks ago, I’ll recap:

I sensed I wasn’t alone in my feelings. And via Blackberry, e-mail, voice mail and postal mail, you confirmed my suspicion, tearing Joe Jackson several new ones on the multitude of new media platforms.

Though, you expressed relief that you were not alone in your dislike for the living Mr. Jackson, many wondered why more wasn’t being said on the subject.

“Hurrah! Hurrah! Finally, someone put into words exactly how I feel about Michael Jackson and Joe Jackson!” wrote Sue Boring of Philadelphia.

“I thought I was the only person recognizing the lack of heart Mr. Jackson reflected about his son’s passing,” wrote another reader. “Maybe if enough of us speak out, the Joe and Al show will quietly go away,” said yet another reader, referring to the Reverend Al Sharpton.

I was particularly dismayed at seeing Joe Jackson pitch his new record company, unrelentingly, in interviews ostensibly about his son’s life. Many of you saw the same thing and described it as heartless, calling Joe a slew of (sanitizing here) names and expressed a desire for his business to go down the toilet. You even looked back a few decades and skewered Joe for using his now adult children as meal tickets.

There was empathy for Michael Jackson and the abuse he claimed, in life, to have suffered as a child at the hands of his father. Now, some of you are worried for Michael’s three children, wondering if the kids will be influenced (or worse) by Joe if custody is awarded to Michael’s mother, Katherine Jackson.

In an exclusive interview with Volder- uh, Joe Jackson, which aired Tuesday night on ABC News, Joe came across more sympathetic than I’d previously seen him. The man has lost a child, after all. Yet his words and actions still made me cringe.

When ABC correspondent Chris Connelly asked Joe if he sees any possibility that Michael’s kids might grow up to become performers, Joe responded that he’s watching Paris, that she may want to do something, and that Blanket can really dance.

If this were a cartoon, the dollar signs would be dancing in his eyes.

Um, how about “Well, Chris, that’s up to the children,” or maybe, “That’s not for me to decide.”

When Connelly asked for Joe’s favorite memory of his son, Joe said his favorite was that Michael was the “greatest entertainer that ever lived.”

By now we shouldn’t be surprised that the last words he shared with Michael involved money. During the interview Joe revealed that last month he advised Michael to get paid in British pounds not U.S. dollars for his London concert series, and that he should be wary of his promoters.

Where are Joe’s tears and grief, readers wondered.

We all react differently to death. Some people show emotion, others don’t. I never expected a breakdown. But, likewise, I don’t think grief involves marketing a new venture live on CNN.

Fortunately, most of you understand that it’s not about hit records, concert ticket sales and prodigies-turned-superstars. Many of you pointed out that what children need most from their parents doesn’t cost a cent.

Reader Rhea Zakich of Garden Grove leads workshops that help families to connect or re-connect, and has dedicated much of her life to teaching people how to learn from each other and listen to one another.

“…Quality time does not mean taking them to Disneyland… Nor does it mean dropping them off for music lessons, taking them to soccer practice, or seeing to it they get a black belt in some martial art,” wrote Zakich.

Likewise, reader Jim Pavelko of Mission Viejo doesn’t see money as the answer. Growing up, he says, his family wasn’t rich, but they spent invaluable time together. Now, as a parent, he uses the same approach.

“My oldest is 23,” wrote Pavelko, “and she often reminds me it is the time we spend together and the memories we share that are most important to her.”

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